Huawei's MatePad Paper is an e-book reader and digital notebook all-in-one

Among the new laptop announcements was something of an unconventional product launch by Huawei at MWC 2022. It's called the MatePad Paper, and is something of a cross between a ReMarkable and a Kindle. 

The tablet features a large 10.3-inch e-ink display, which means it's black and white, and doesn't need a backlight in order to be visible. That in turn means it's extremely power efficient. It can last 4 weeks on standby. 

Unlike most traditional tablets, this means it's not really designed to be a media consumption device, but that doesn't mean it hasn't got its uses. The design features something called a 'Book Spine Design', which means you get a larger tab on the side for holding on to, coating in a leather like material. 

It runs Harmony OS 2, and comes with Huawei's own Huawei Books store built in, for easy access to 2 million books. 

What makes it different to a Kindle is that you can use it in much the same way you'd use a normal tablet. At least, when it comes to productivity. It comes with Huawei App Gallery preinstalled too, for downloading additional apps. 

You can create and edit documents, but also - because it has support for Huawei's M-Pencil - you can hand-write notes, and even work in split-screen mode. It has handwriting-to-text conversion and voice recording capabilities too. 

The texture of the display is designed to feel like paper when you're writing on it too, so it shouldn't feel like you're writing on a glossy piece of glass. 

It can play video, and even has a smart refresh rate feature to make it feel a little less jarring than you'd expect. But being grayscale, it's undoubtedly not going to be the same as watch a traditional colour screen. 

Spec wise, it had 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, supports Wi-Fi 6 and has a fingerprint sensor built into the power button. It weighs just 360g, and will be available in black, khaki and blue. 

In Europe, the retail price is set at €499, which seems steep. However, that price includes the M-Pencil (2nd gen) stylus and a folio cover in the bundle. 

Source : https://www.pocket-lint.com/tablets/news/huawei/160191-huawei-s-matepad-paper-is-an-e-book-reader-and-digital-notebook-all-in-one